Abstract 4241: Circulating microRNAs in plasma of men screened for prostate cancer

Introduction: Although microRNAs (miRNAs) have been linked to prostate cancer risk, their role as a screening biomarker for prostate cancer (PC) has yet to be determined. We examined whether circulating miRNAs in plasma could be potential biomarkers for the early detection of PC among men undergoing prostate needle biopsy. Methods: Men who had a prostate biopsy due to an abnormal screening test were recruited. Demographics, medical history, clinical information, and blood processed into plasma were collected. TaqMan Low Density Arrays were used for the expression profiling of 733 miRNAs in plasma. Wilcoxon test was used to compare expression levels between men with and without a PC diagnosis. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between miRNAs and PC status, after adjusting for age and Bonferroni-correction. Results: There were 131 men, aged 46 to 86 years, included in the final analysis, with 66 men diagnosed with PC on prostate biopsy and 65 men without a PC diagnosis. Majority were white (72.5%) followed by black race (13.5%). Men with PC were older (median: 64 vs. 62 years; p-value = 0.16) and had statistically significantly higher serum PSA (median: 5.8 vs. 5.1 ng/mL; p-value = 0.01) compared to men without a PC diagnosis. The most statistically significant PC circulating miRNAs in plasma were miR-381, miR-523, miR-450B-5p, miR-34a, miR-34b, miR-639, and miR-365, after adjusting for age (p-values ≤ 0.05). The detection rate of these miRNAs in plasma ranged from 23.7% to 83.2%. These miRNAs were no longer statistically significant with PC diagnosis, after adjusting for multiple comparison (FDR q-value = 1.00). Conclusion: Among the 733 miRNAs evaluated, there was no miRNA found to be associated with PC diagnosis after adjusting for multiple comparison. Studies that examine a larger number of miRNAs which include the discovery of new miRNAs and their relationship with PC risk are warranted. Citation Format: Alicia C. Mcdonald, Jing Shen, Manish Vira, Martin Sanda, Jason Liao, Martin L. Lesser, Dattatraya Patil, Jay D. Raman, Emanuela Taioli. Circulating microRNAs in plasma of men screened for prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4241. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4241